Cattle trailer full of horses overturned on I40 west of Nashville

[wireweiners]

[QUOTE=katyb;6092314]
I didn’t this time, but I have. I’ve hauled rescue horses with as many as three unrestrained in there, with the cut gate open.

One horse, or even three horses, is different from many horses, in terms of the load shifting. However, I don’t see any big danger that horses not packed in tightly will fall over randomly, unless they are in really bad shape.[/QUOTE]

They don’t just “fall over randomly”. What happens is they get to moving and shifting or fighting and get knocked down or they get to moving and shifting and fighting and the trailer starts fishtailing. You might have gotten away with hauling 3 horses loose in a trailer with the cut gate open but its not something I would do. They would have been up front with the gate shut. All you “OMG give them plenty of room” folks need to load and haul a load of crazy cows to the sale barn. Then you’d understand what we’re talking about. And horses, unless they are used to being hauled, are worse than cows about moving around and trying to fight.

[7HL]

@Dispatcher;6091746

Considering where he says he lives, Paradise, PA, which is not far form New Holland auction and in the midst of Amish farm land, I suspect he DOES see this sort of thing all the time.

Guess he got used to not following the rules and now considers it SOP…

Suspect you are wrong.

You don’t have a peeping clue. But most ARAs are clueless.

[7HL]

@Acertainsmile;6091299

I’m betting my 2 bucks that Barnfairy is right on the money…so 7HeLL, which auctions do you frequent?

Barnfairy… way too many jokes there with that screen name.:lol:

[7HL]

@betonbill;6092003

I think Barnfairy was right on the money.

another “Barnfairy” fan… hmmmmm

[7HL]

@jenm;6092389

This makes sense and explains his callousness and lack of compassion.

…again you and your RARA friends are clueless.

[Moderator_1]

Please drop the bickering and get back to actual discussion of the topic or we’ll be closing the thread.

Thanks,
Mod 1

[luvmytbs]

@Moderator 1;6092481

or we’ll be closing the thread.

Thanks,
Mod 1

I think that’s exactly what certain posters are hoping for.

[Acertainsmile]

An interview with one of the farms past drivers.

http://www.wsmv.com/story/16568210/horse-truck-driver-owner-abused-horses

[luvmytbs]

This accident has opened a huge can of worms.

Amazing how that company has been able to fly under the radar for so long.
Their list of violations keeps getting longer by the day.

I hope, for once, the regulatory entities will conduct their investigation and subsequently fine the company in a manner that we, the tax payers who pay their salaries, would expect them to do.

[katyb]

[QUOTE=wireweiners;6092423]
They don’t just “fall over randomly”. What happens is they get to moving and shifting or fighting and get knocked down or they get to moving and shifting and fighting and the trailer starts fishtailing. You might have gotten away with hauling 3 horses loose in a trailer with the cut gate open but its not something I would do. They would have been up front with the gate shut. All you “OMG give them plenty of room” folks need to load and haul a load of crazy cows to the sale barn. Then you’d understand what we’re talking about. And horses, unless they are used to being hauled, are worse than cows about moving around and trying to fight.[/QUOTE]

I don’t see how cramming them in so tightly that they don’t even have to reach for someone to bite is a solution to that problem.

I’ve hauled quite a few rescue horses without any issues. Generally, by the time we get them, they are in bad shape and not much trouble. I’ve been really fortunate, I’m sure, with all the horses I have hauled. There have been a few who have really trashed trailers, but just by luck, I haven’t had any trouble.

In the instance of hauling three, it was the best solution in the situation we were in at that moment. With my horses, I load two, shut the gate, load one or two. Pulling my trailer w/ my F350, crew cab, long bed, dually, unless I load like Three Angels, I don’t think the horses can do anything in the trailer that will affect my hauling.

[Ridge_Runner]

This is OT but did you all read where that driver said that all the horses bound to slaughter got a steroid shot to “beef them up?”

Bob says what he heard and saw there made him very uncomfortable.
He says the horses being off-loaded were shot with steroids. He says he asked the man who appeared to be the owner of the facility why and says he was told, “‘It beefs them up so they can get more at the slaughterhouse for them.’ That turned my stomach for the worst. I didn’t have any idea what I was getting into,” he says.

Yum yum…intentional contamination of horse meat now. Unreal…

[pony4me]

It’s nice that the local (Nashville) newspeople did not take the crash story at its face value and just let it fade away. Investigative reporting when done well usually turns up some “interesting” facts.

Also noted in the story was the driver saying that double decker trailers were sometimes used, and that there was no paperwork with the load of horses he hauled to Texas.

However, the reporter was careful to point out that transporting horses from one place to another (even if it’s a feedlot) is legal if all transportation and animal welfare laws are complied with. In this case it seems like a few laws were disregarded.

Next thing is that the story has an aerial view of the guy’s farm, probably taken from a helicopter. There are a LOT of horses out there. I hope he’s feeding them. He sure as hell knows he’s being watched.

Go to post 361 for link to the latest video and news on this.

[luvmytbs]

For those who are still confused about the number of horses on this trailer, quote from one of the articles posted:

“However, the USDA said the average number of horses to be shipped on a trailer of that size is 22.”

http://www.newschannel5.com/story/16548811/investigation-launched-into-horse-trailer-crash

[betonbill]

[QUOTE=Daydream Believer;6093932]
This is OT but did you all read where that driver said that all the horses bound to slaughter got a steroid shot to “beef them up?”

Bob says what he heard and saw there made him very uncomfortable.
He says the horses being off-loaded were shot with steroids. He says he asked the man who appeared to be the owner of the facility why and says he was told, “‘It beefs them up so they can get more at the slaughterhouse for them.’ That turned my stomach for the worst. I didn’t have any idea what I was getting into,” he says.

Yum yum…intentional contamination of horse meat now. Unreal…[/QUOTE]

Perhaps this helps explain the Mexican athletes that were found to have steroids in their system after eating horsemeat regularly as part of their training regimen.

[betonbill]

[QUOTE=luvmytbs;6095541]
For those who are still confused about the number of horses on this trailer, quote from one of the articles posted:

“However, the USDA said the average number of horses to be shipped on a trailer of that size is 22.”

http://www.newschannel5.com/story/16548811/investigation-launched-into-horse-trailer-crash[/QUOTE]

I admit being sadly surprised at the number of people who weren’t upset by the fact of these horses being packed in like sardines. And IMO, I seriously doubt that any of them were tied in place or arranged in neat little stacking formations like some have implied.

[Liberty]

[QUOTE=betonbill;6095631]
I admit being sadly surprised at the number of people who weren’t upset by the fact of these horses being packed in like sardines. And IMO, I seriously doubt that any of them were tied in place or arranged in neat little stacking formations like some have implied.[/QUOTE]

Me too.

[Alagirl]

@luvmytbs;6095541

For those who are still confused about the number of horses on this trailer, quote from one of the articles posted:

“However, the USDA said the average number of horses to be shipped on a trailer of that size is 22.”

http://www.newschannel5.com/story/16548811/investigation-launched-into-horse-trailer-crash

[quote=betonbill;6095631]I admit being sadly surprised at the number of people who weren’t upset by the fact of these horses being packed in like sardines. And IMO, I seriously doubt that any of them were tied in place or arranged in neat little stacking formations like some have implied.
[/quote]

To arrive at an average you have to have high and low numbers. So obviously it is not uncommon for the trailers to be packed.

[JGHIRETIRE]

They only process what they have a market for - the number of horses processed hasn’t changed alot. Just sayin…

[QUOTE=deckchick;6087993]
So maybe there needs to be slaughterhouses for horses in the US.

Holding pens and transport trailers are two completely different discussions.

I don’t get why so many are having trouble with this concept. Animals are “restrained” by crowding them, it make everything and everyone safer.

In a perfect world there would be no horse slaughter and every horse would have a loving owner that fed it daily and treated it like Dobbins deserves to be treated.

In the real world there are way too many horses out there, and the slaughterhouses in Mexico and Canada are processing horses as fast as they can.

Before you jump all over me, I too hate the thought of horses being hauled in DD trailers, and horses being inhumanely slaughtered. But really folks, what are the practical options? The feedlots and slaughterhouses are busy for a reason.[/QUOTE]

[JGHIRETIRE]

How would you know??

[B]

[QUOTE=7HL;6088366]
No one feels sorry for the chickens on the Tyson Chicken trucks/tailers hauling hundred of crates jammed full of chickens speeding down the roads around me. Feathers flying everywhere, on their way to becomming McNuggets.
[/B]
People and other animals eat horse meat. Horses are used more then just to ride. They are the tractors on many farms. They are a 16 year olds “hot rod” buggy. Those of us that choose to own horses to ride do not have exclusive domain over horses. We do not have the right or should we to tell others how to use them.[/QUOTE]

[pony4me]

[QUOTE=betonbill;6095631]
I admit being sadly surprised at the number of people who weren’t upset by the fact of these horses being packed in like sardines. And IMO, I seriously doubt that any of them were tied in place or arranged in neat little stacking formations like some have implied.[/QUOTE]

None of them were tied in place. The attending vet in an earlier interview said that when the trailer overturned, most of the horses were able to somehow scramble to an upright position, and waited until they were removed from the trailer. That also provides an answer for someone earlier on this thread who asked why the removal took so long. The horses were ok enough in the overturned trailer that an orderly removal and transport to a barn was possible. Yes, some were killed and/or injured, but at least we didn’t have 30+ horses running around on the interstate at night. FWIW, one of the vets who was at the scene is the vet who treats my horse.